Defenders rarely enjoy facing forward players who force them to turn toward their own goal. For Mamelodi Sundowns FC centre-back Grant Kekana, one specific attacker stood out above the rest throughout his professional career.
Speaking at his club’s home kit launch, the 33-year-old defender named former Kaizer Chiefs talisman Khama Billiat as the single trickiest customer he ever had to mark.
Respect for a League Legend
Kekana has built an impressive resume in South African football. He holds four domestic league titles, a PSL Defender of the Season award, and a bronze medal from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations with Bafana Bafana.
Yet, his battles against Billiat remain vivid. The two players crossed paths frequently during Kekana’s spells at University of Pretoria and SuperSport United, where he was often tasked specifically with stopping the Zimbabwean star.
“Everyone will tell you about Khama Billiat. His first touch, his awareness,” Kekana toldkickoff.com. “You know us defenders: we don’t like to get dragged into weird positions, running facing our goal, and Khama had it all.”
Kekana noted that preparing for Billiat required extreme physical readiness.
“When you were facing Khama, you knew you had to drink at least five litres of water because you were going to lose a lot of water,” Kekana added.
A Remarkable PSL Legacy
The praise reflects Billiat’s massive influence on Mzansi football. Across his time with Ajax Cape Town, Sundowns, and Chiefs, the former PSL Footballer of the Season recorded 95 goals and 96 assists in 362 appearances.
Despite both players having strong historical connections to Sundowns, they never shared the dressing room. Billiat left Chloorkop for Chiefs in 2018, three years before Kekana joined the club.
Billiat has since returned to Zimbabwe, playing for Scottland FC following a successful stint at Yadah FC. For defenders like Kekana, however, the memory of tracking his movement remains a defining benchmark of domestic difficulty.
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